Dear Parish Families,

  As we draw closer to the end of another liturgical year, our Scriptures draw our attention, as they do at the end of every liturgical year, to the end times. They do this, as a reminder to us, that this world is limited and eventually this world, our world, as we know it will pass away.

  Especially with my dad’s recent cancer diagno-sis, I have found that to be ever so true. We just never know when or where our world as we know it will be changed drastically. Whether it be through a medical diagnosis, a tragedy of some sort, a change in jobs, an unplanned move. The reality is, we just never know when or where God is going to call us. Our world is constantly changing and “passing away,” even before the actual end times.

  So the truth that you and I are faced with is that while we can and will never quite know exactly when those passing aways of our world will occur, we must be prepared at all times. That means not putting off the opportunity to do good, to grow closer to God, to love others, whenever they present themselves. Je-sus says that, “by your perseverance you will save your life.” Rather then focusing on worrying about exactly when the end will come, we’re called to live for the end at every moment and we do that by not wasting our time and taking advantage of the oppor-tunities before us to do good.

  Maybe these last days of the liturgical year are for each of us, a call to urgency. It’s easy to think thoughts such as, “I’ve got more time,” or “I can take care of that tomorrow,” and while we certainly can’t do everything in one day, what we can do is make sure that we are doing each and every day what we can to bring about God’s Kingdom. Is there someone we’ve been meaning to reach out to? Is there some-one we’ve been trying to forgive? Have we been put-ting off deepening our relationship with God? Have we been meaning to start praying more or to take a step to grow in our spiritual life? Why don’t we do some of that today? This week?

  Rather than trying to figure it all out, we should simply spend our time doing what’s good, what’s right, when and as we are able. By our perseverance in doing that, by our perseverance in answering God’s call as it presents itself, we will save our lives!

 In Christ's Love,

  Fr. John